Today, there is a critical shortage of people with Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills. Although many schools are adding AI classes to their curriculum, it is NOT enough because the demand is exploding with a few graduates in AI . Companies are complaining that too few AI-graduates has impeded their potential growth and some economists say it could slow down U.S. economic growth in the next five years. Many economists believe AI has the potential to change the economy in the same way that steam engine, electricity, and the computer did in the previous industrial revolutions. However, the speed of the change will depend on the availability of technical talent and currently, every company is having difficulty in finding qualified AI workers.

Of course, universities are trying to keep up. Applicants to Berkeley’s AI program numbered 300 applicants a decade ago, but by last year had surged to over two thousand. At the University of Illinois, the introduction to AI course had tripled the number of students since last year. Carnegie Mellon University is the first school to offer a degree in Artificial Intelligence and the number of applicants has increased to several thousand. But it would take many years to meet the industry’s high demand. However, many people do not want to wait and the number of people who enrolled in the AI courses at MOOCs also increase five times more than last year.

When supply is less than demand, it drives up wages. It is estimated that the average salaries for AI-related jobs rose over 10% in the past few months to $120,000 for an entry level. Several Indian companies also reported that AI engineers now command $400 to $600 an hour for their outsourcing projects, more than triple the pay just a few years ago.

Most executives believe that artificial intelligence and automation will impact everything in the next few years and they have invested billions of dollars into this technology. One of the most important investment is the MIT ‘s AI center that received over one billion dollars. AI is moving fast and companies need more skilled workers today. As students, if you do not follow the trends and start to learn about machine learning, robotics, automation, and Artificial intelligence, you may be missing a very good opportunity.